Applicant claims priority from German patent application 100 12 387.2 filed Mar. 14, 2000.
Present vehicles commonly have 12 volt batteries with a battery casing and with a pair of largely cylindrical posts projecting from the casing. A common type of fitting for connecting a high amperage cable wire to a battery post includes a front end forming a slit ring that is pushed over the post and clamped to it, and a rear end that has lugs that are clamped against opposite sides of the bared cable wire by a screw. The connection and release of the fitting connection to the battery terminal is relatively inexact and complicated, and exposes the worker to the battery terminals and sparks that may occur there at. There are proposals for vehicle batteries that supply a higher voltage, such as 42 volts. This results in the need for somewhat lower current-carrying capacity, but better protection of a worker from the voltage of the battery. A connector arrangement for vehicle batteries, which facilitated connection and disconnection of a cable wire to the battery terminal, would also be desirable in facilitating connections to the vehicle electrical system as in starting a vehicle when the battery is run down.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle battery connector arrangement is provided, which simplifies connection and disconnection of a cable wire to the battery terminal while better protecting a worker who performs such connection and disconnection. The connection arrangement includes a battery connector designed to be fixed to a battery terminal and a cable connector designed to be fixed to a cable conductor. The connectors have pin and socket contacts that enable quick mating and unmating. A locking device holds the connectors together, but enables rapid release so the connectors can be unmated. The locking device includes an insulative sheath that surrounds a conductive insert that form one of the contacts, to isolate a workman who holds the cable connector, from the voltage of the battery.
The locking device can include a pair of resilient catch arms that are deflected apart, until they snap in front of stationary shoulders on the platform of the battery connector, at which time the pin and socket contacts have been fully mated. Disconnection is accomplished by spreading apart the catch arms.